For the third consecutive game the Vegas Golden Knights were made to pay for putting up a stinker in the first period as they dropped a tough one to the LA Kings on Thursday.
After coming back to beat the St. Louis Blues, the Vegas Golden Knights couldn’t quite repeat the trick against the Pittsburgh Penguins and they dug themselves another hole against the Kings at T-Mobile Arena.
Being outshot 18-10 in the first period, the Golden Knights fell apart in the final minutes of the opening frame.
It started when Vegas couldn’t clear the zone, leading to Alec Martinez blasting a one-timer past Malcolm Subban, who was making his first start since Dec. 27.
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Ben Hutton then became the second Kings defenseman to get on the board as he ripped a shot past Subban through traffic.
It only got worse for the Golden Knights as Tyler Toffoli scored straight off the draw, before Adrian Kempe scooped up a loose puck to beat Subban who had denied Kempe’s initial shot with the pad.
After what was a miserable first period, the Knights did show some signs of life in the second thanks to Reilly Smith who beat Jack Campbell close to the net for his fourth goal in five games after LA had failed to clear the zone.
Max Pacioretty, who has been on an absolute tear all year, then sent a wrister past Cambell to make it a two-goal game and set up a big third period.
However, and despite outshooting the Kings 12-2 in the final period, Vegas couldn’t beat Campbell and the game was iced when Kempe scored his second goal of the night by converting on the power play.
It was a tough loss for the Vegas Golden Knights and, on that note, let’s delve into some takeaways from the contest…